Friday, December 4, 2009

A huge challenge!

I am trying to stay motivated in the face of a challenge. Almost two years ago my husband and I planned on a Christmas get-away for this year. We have 4 days in Florida and then a 9 night cruise with our family. Are you kidding me? I am so excited to get away with the kids and my cute hubby and have a blast, but I am soooo scared of having a two week binge fest! Is it possible to gain the whole 67 pounds I've lost back in two weeks? Ug!

So I'm planning on taking all my exercise clothes, and the ship has a gym. The ship also has TONS of fattening food. I want to indulge a little and enjoy myself, but I don't want to be derailed. I plan on getting a dessert at dinner if something looks really good, and then just having a few bites. My hubby who is thin and fit is great at finishing up my leftovers. :) I know there will be lots of fruit and healthy food too, and I just need to be smart about it, but I didn't get to be 100 pounds overweight by being smart about food.

And now, since I know that I probably will gain a few pounds on this trip my mind is playing games with me. That little evil voice is saying, "If your going to gain weight anyway... those chips in the cupboard sound so good." Or, "ooh, those cookies look so good, you should just start eating now." HELP!

How do I navigate this trip and come out on top? I would love to go and maintain, but I don't think that is realistic. I will fit in lots of exercise, but I would be thrilled to come home with just a 5 pound weight gain. So any tips or suggestions would be great. I could sure use all the help I can get.

4 comments:

Good luck on the cruise. It will be hard and don't get upset if you come home a pound or two heavier. Enjoy it, just don't go HOG wild. I'm sure you will able to find plenty of healthy choices. And it's a great plan to take advantage of the gym.

We just did a 7 day cruise in June and I lost 5 pounds - yes you read that right and I wasn't even in a great mindset. We ate a lot of our meals in the dining room and you know what its really all about portion control. They have perfect portions. When I did the breakfast buffet I loaded up my plate with fruits and if I had room I would take a couple of eggs and only eat one yolk (remember I wasn't paying close attention back then). Neither of us drink a lot so we never went to the bars - I didn't go into the buffet at all hours. We walked the deck as much as possible.

I remember eating lunch with one lady we met on the ship. I had a nice green salad covering my plate with lite dressing. She sat down and had this "salad" it had to have been minimum 1500 calories - it was loaded with all the white stuff. That was the one piece of advice I have always remembered about buffets - avoid the white food.

Your upcoming trip sounds wonderful, I am sad that it is marred by fear for you. One thing I have learned on this journey is... it's not about the food. It's about your thinking.

It's not about the food. It's about our thinking.

When I read your post, I noticed that you have already accepted that you will not lose weight on the trip. Okay. But then you go on to give yourself permission to gain a minimum of 5 pounds. Then you opened the door for an even larger gain by wondering if you might regain all your weight that you lost already.

Please don't be offended, I totally understand. I am just offering a different point of view. I would love for you to go on your trip, have a blast, and keep the damage to a minimum, then come home feeling GOOD about yourself, with only good memories.

To do that you only need to do one thing... make up your mind NOW. Period. It is your choice how much slack you give yourself.

You could go, enjoy eating whatever you want in modest portions, work hard at your workouts, maintain your weight, and totally have a trip of a lifetime! It's your choice. You CAN do it. Whether or not you CHOOSE to do it, only you can answer. I hope you do... we would love to have you come back showing us photos and gushing about the fantastic trip, all proud of yourself with your good choices.

You have worked hard to lose 67 pounds... you don't want them back... na uh!

My Progress

About Me

I've been at least a few pounds over-weight almost my whole life. For the past 18 years I have been in flux between very overweight and obese. (Almost my whole married life.) In 2009 I lost 70 pounds, and then gained it back with a pregnancy. But it is time to take my life back. One pound at a time. This is my journey of losing 100 pounds.